Hang a Star
by Honourable Fool
Summary: Perhaps he had always been just there, breathing behind the thin grey veil of her dreams, waiting for her to push it aside. Was it he that sat and whispered to her in the dark night until her mind became but a shadow of his will? An introspective drabble.


AN/ Hey people's! Long time no see! So it's been determined (by me) that I have a series called Relena And.... This would be fic number three. Like I say on my profile, there's no rhyme or reason to them nor, uh, anything else. They're all spur-of-the-moment things that kinda pop out, generally late at night or when I'm not really thinking about anything in particular. This is kind of, no, really fluffy. But it was an exercise in expressing character thought, and it went... moderately well. Anyways, I'm tired of sitting on it. So here it is. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: /sighs/ This old thing again? No, I don't own! Happy? Good. Now onward!

Hang a Star for Me

By: Honourable Fool

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Around her, the world was disappearing until all that existed were those eyes, deep pools endlessly swirling around her. She saw the dance they played, the steps bringing him within the reach of her hand, but always he spun away from her at the last moment. Just there, so close, weaving into and out of her life until she could no longer see where she began and he ended. Perhaps it had always been that way; perhaps he had always been just there, breathing behind the thin grey veil of her dreams, waiting for her to push it aside. Was it he that sat and whispered to her in the dark night until her mind became but a shadow of his will? Maybe all this was part of some elaborate plan meant to entrap her.

Well if it was, she thought, it was working and she didn't care. Because with every passing second those eyes drew her in deeper, drowning her in those dark pools where moonlight was veiled but silver starlight, wary and pale, filled the world with shadows and blinding beauty. Inside his eyes there gleamed the void of outer space, the massive expanse of another world foreign to her world of sunsets and golden sand on the beach, where the sea stretched endlessly, reaching up to kiss the sky, but only ever finding the heated brow of the sun. She wondered if that made him a creature of the night and she of the day. But really, she was a two-fold creature, wandering between night and day, while he was of neither. For in his world there stretched only endless nothing with gleaming stars hanging just beyond reach, so far away yet ever present.

Did that make him empty? No. He was anything but empty. How many people fill up their space with meaningless nothings? In truth, too many. But he did not feel that need. He existed in a world beyond her own, allowing himself to exist as he was. And deep within him, beyond reach but ever present, he hung in his endless sky those things that were most important, gleaming stars so easily misunderstood by those that saw them, but loved by he who placed them. She wondered now if she had a star placed with care within his heavens. For her, thought, he would always have his stretch of golden sand, deep blue waters lapping gently at his fee. She would always remember him there, where first she found him and fist she loved him. He would always be there for her, in her heart.

Her head tipped gently to the side a little as his lips moved softly, a small move, the deep rumble of his words washing over her, though their meaning was lost in her mind. Would it always be this way? Would she always be able to look across from her and see those endless eyes pulling her into him? Or would they change, his endless sky filled with stars? Would she always have a place within him? Or would there be a day when she did not fall but remain firmly on the ground? Such a day would break her heart. She had known from the moment she first looked into his midnight eyes that he could either save her or cast her lower than even the fair Lady Luthien was forced to fall. He could be her salvation or her damnation and she had put that power in his hands by loving him so much. She was a fool, she new it, and looking into his eyes she could see, even from here, the cold rocks surrounding his heart that she would be dashed against, could feel their biting jagged edges tearing at her body if she tried.

He blinked and the vision was gone. No, he wouldn't do that to her. He had chosen, just as surely as she had chosen to put her faith, her life, in his hands. Even now the arms of his love calmed and surrounded her, protecting her and shielding her as no one else could. She was safe and felt it in her heart. He had hung for her a star in his silver skies and that was that.

The justice turned to her, and said, "And do you, Relena Stephanie Darlian, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The sound of his warm voice broke her from her thoughts, reminding her of the world again, and now she felt the warm sting of tears in her eyes. Not far from her she could hear the snuffling of Lucrezia and Hilde, and just beyond his midnight blue eyes she saw Duo "scratching his nose". She wondered if Milliardo was dry-eyed as well, but she couldn't look at him. Before her was the man she had dreamed of for the past eight years, beautiful and real and loving her. She had been broken from her thoughts, but nothing now could break her from him. Not now. Not after she spoke the words that had been but a ghost on her lips ever since he first asked her. Not ever again.

As she opened her mouth to speak the words, a smile came unbidden to her lips, and she didn't fight it. "I do." She whispered, and he seemed to breathe the words into himself, those deep, endless eyes imprinting every second of this moment in his meticulous mind. He always wished to be perfect.

"By the power vested in me by the…" the justice was saying, but she wasn't listening. All she could see was the way he blinked too much, the way the corners of his mouth couldn't decide where to place themselves, the way his eyes were completely lost in her own.

Without thinking, she mouthed, "I love you," and saw his breath hitch.

Slowly, the seconds stretching endlessly, he smiled, gently, and just for her alone. His lips parted and he mouthed, "I love you." Her heart was practically singing with the force of it's own beat and she felt, if a person could die of happiness, she would right then.

"… I now pronounce you 'husband and wife'. You may kiss the bride."

He did not need further prompting. Stepping forward with that old quickness and sureness of foot that made him so deadly, he had her in his arms, smiling as her tinkling laughter cascaded all around them in the small chapel. And then he was kissing her, sure and deep, and in a distant part of her mind not completely lost in his kiss, she heard Duo whooping inappropriately. The kiss was, most reluctantly, cut short for the sake of their friends, and then she was gazing up into his face and he was grinning at her, more beautiful than anything she'd seen before.

"I love you Heero!" she said for him alone to hear.

He pulled her upright, then bent down to her ear and whispered, "I know." She resisted the urge to smack his arm. He always knew. He had known that she loved him before she had known it herself, known that she had wanted him before she knew how to say it, and he had known she would say yes before he even asked. He always knew, and she loved him for that too.

Gripping his arm gently, they walked between their friends, Hilde giving Duo a smack when he was within reach, Lucrezia soothing her brother from his reminiscence, and Pagan burying his nose in his kerchief. It was small, but it was perfect. Perfect enough for a princess and her soldier.

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AN/ So, what'd you think? Tell me. I'd love to hear from you. Or at the least, choose a number below and send it along. Oh, and go check out the other two in this series; Crouching Tigress, Teasing Dragon and Summer Haze. Those two are much better, I think. And as always, thanks to Inazuma-sama for the use of her fiction Rating Guide. See below.

Inazuma Akai's 5 Star Rating System for Fanfiction:  
1 star – This fic is unreadable! Get a beta-reader stat!  
2 stars – This story needs a face-lift in the worst possible way…  
3 stars – Not bad, but with a little more effort you can make it a really good fic.  
4 stars – There are some minor errors here and there but otherwise it's a very nice fic!  
5 stars – It's an exceptional work of art! More, please?

TTFN


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